REBSEA Newsletter-2013

BILL CURRENTLY BEFORE CONGRESS TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE. H.R. 2043, H.R. 6505.

Referring to "the transformative power of social enterprise" , this bill will establish a commission comprised of the heads of 21 separate government agencies " to examine and make recommendations with respect to ways the Federal Government can support and utilize the transformative power of social enterprise".

Social Enterprise is neither a conservative nor a liberal idea. It exists outside of politics because social enterprise does not address any interest in conflict or competition with any other interest, simply because it is a voluntary activity. It by-passes any direct government involvement and asks the 'business community' to donate and direct part of its revenue to nonprofit organizations in order to support the needs of the communities they serve.

Our society asks the business community to not harm the environment and in fact to be part of the process of protecting and improving it for the benefit of mankind. It 'asks' by doing business with companies that support this mandate, and withholding its dollars from those that do not. It is now becoming the case that our society is 'asking' that business also take social responsibility for the communities it serves. It does this by 'preferring' to do business with people and companies that Give Back. A strong trend is for consumers to look for companies that Give Back when they buy products and use services. As a society we are beginning to look for it, coming to expect it, and as this trend continues, actually 'demand it' in return for our dollars.

REBSEA Is playing its part, starting with the real estate industry, by demonstrating that people can CHOOSE to work with real estate agents who Give Back. We are starting by forming a strong network of FOUNDERS who are already supporting Nonprofits through their business. Next REBSEA will offer membership to other real estate agents to whom we will demonstrate that Giving Back is good business and good for business. The simple FACT is that people prefer to do business with people who Give Back and it is smart to brand one's business accordingly.

Social Enterprise is beginning to transform the shape of business in the U.S. and around the

world. If you think that is an exaggerated statement you may feel otherwise after reading the

articles in thisnewsletter. Study after study confirms the FACT that most people (80-85%)

will switch from a brand they are using to another brand if that brand supports a cause that

they believe in.

Most people prefer to do business with companies that give back and Corporate America is

listening and moving in the direction of satisfying that preference. Increasingly they are

catering to the trend towards social responsibility by more actively supporting causes

that benefit the communities they serve. They are not giving all of their profits to

Nonprofits like Paul Newman Brands is doing but they are giving some and finding

that it is good for business.

REBSEA has hundreds of real estate agents on its list who presently actively support

Nonprofits through their business. Our task is to organize all of us into a single umbrella

organization so that we can bring Social Enterprise into the real estate industry in a truly

significant way.

We do this by 1) sending our members referrals from the large national Nonprofits who receive a donation at closing. 2) sending business to our members from socially conscious consumers who prefer to do business with those who give back. 3) sending business to each other as a strong referral network of like minded real estate agents.

More than one half of all the wealth in the U.S. is invested in real estate, more than twice

that invested in all of our stock markets combined, yet the contribution to Nonprofits from this

industry is minimal when compared to most every other industry. The reason is simply that

we have not organized in such a way that provides infrastructure for charitable giving to flourish.

Please join with us and become one of the Founders of our trade association so that

charitable giving through real estate transactions can have the needed infrastructure to grow

into a vehicle for supporting more Nonprofit Organizations in your community. Become known

as the "real estate agent who gives back" and encourage by example others to do the same.

Now back to the premise of our first issue of thisnewsletter: Social Enterprise is transforming commerce as we know it. It is happening in many sectors of our society and our economy.